From Yesterday
by Xarsha Et Kaycex
Summary: Ever wonder what happened in Youko Kurama's past? Before he became all powerful and the King of Thieves in Makai? Well, here is a secure glimpse in the pretty boy's mystery!


Crunching noises resounded as the fibers in each small life form that nestled on the ground was crushed under soft, slender, young feet. Fog billowed around the lucid figure as it made its way through the trees; black fluff twitched from time to time, swatting at an invisible bug that was, in reality, reacting to the billows of white mist that caressed it. Somewhat pale skin shone through the cracks between the foliage as light shown descended down on it. Soon, crunching leaves on the ground transitioned to soft sand. The malleable, miniscule, balls of mass made way as weight pushed down on it; and hidden roots under moss made way for sand and roots that stood on a focal point, each white brown root diving down in different directions like the frame of an umbrella. On the other side of the shore similar events were going on, a smaller figure was carrying out the same actions, as though one another were doppelgangers. In fact, each mass was similar only in their differences, one was of a pretty good height, the other of a smaller standard, one had dark silk hair that curled out in calm waves, and the other had light flat hair that cascaded barely above her shoulders in a small bob. One had light blue eyes that reflected the sun's light in a spectrum of differing shades of blue, the other had pink eyes that shimmered a pale red upon the suns touch. The clothing, however was actually alike, both had on clothing that was tight but also shot out comfortably in directions proving the law of gravity. The taller, jet black haired one had a huge white companion, one that was considerably larger and stood on all fours. The other had a similar one, but it was brown and has little significance than the other.

Small feet sunk into sand, and water mixed with brown grains surrounded each foot as it was followed by huge paw prints; all of which made little puddles around the area. Black fur pressed against jet black hair, as the slender figure scrutinized its find on the waters shore.

"Tundra . . . What do you deduce of this . . . this boy?" questioned a young feminine voice, obviously ridden with innocence. The huge white furred, tetra pod of a mass hurried forward, and a nose enhanced with huge nostrils sniffed the small boy.

"He's alive, but unconscious. Perhaps he is from the continent; I am simply curious as to how he got here." responded the one dubbed Tundra. "We should take him back to th-" a howl was heard in the distance, and the white one's ears flicked as it turned its attention, "Your sister has found a similar disturbance."

"Hm. Okay, well, I am going to go ahead and lift him atop you, after that just ride me to the council." answered the two legged one. The small slender figure went toward the silver haired boy, his white iron colored ears flicked as he was lifted; the wet blanket dripping off of him. It then drug him onto the big white canine and then got on itself, pulling him atop its lap. The big white canine then bounded back into the moss floored, leaf covered area. Moss gave way to a meadow, which then gave way to a little forest, creeks running every which way as green and black rock formations sparkled. Unique earth then gave way to brick road, which then gave way to a small red wood bridge, leading to stone road. The swift white blur ran past buildings surrounded by unique gardens, and then it stopped as it came to a huge building surrounded by a white wall, guarded by two male figures in armor.

It acknowledged the two armor clad figures with a nod as it slowly trot forward and up white steps, going into a huge hall surrounded by red marble pillars; silk spun around them from the walls like ethereal beings welcoming them back home. It continued on, nails clicking from each pound of energy caused by each step. Finally, it decided to come to a stop, laying down on all fours in front of an arc of figures, each wearing the same outfit; aside one.

There was one that sat as the midpoint between each side of council, that one wore an elaborate outfit, obviously made from rich silks and jewels, along with a small hat of status that sat atop that one's head. Although small, it proved the power that one had, as it was wedged between two big dark brown furry ears. If one wasn't as perceptive they would believe the ears were black. Eyes went to slits as it looked at what its daughter tracked in.

"Father we found a boy," said the male's daughter, her naive feminine voice echoed through the hall as she climbed down the colossal canine, bringing the boy with her as she cradled him in her arms. Her strength could be underestimated by her young appearance, but she held the larger figure as if he were a rag doll.

"Hm," the one in the middle approached his daughter and two fingers, the index and the middle finger of his right hand, came forward; menacing nails extended from them. They landed upon the boys forehead, small breaths of life gasped from the boys mouth as his body remained unresponsive. The male's eyes, the one whose fingers were upon the boy, had a bland expression; the eyes remained unchanged until after a moment. One would have to have excellent eyes, some of which none had, to notice the tiny flinch in his pupils as a thought crossed upon him. He nodded at his daughter, "Watch him until he recovers, he will work under Acqua as a black smith's apprentice until we can find him a place with a teacher."

The young girl bowed, furls and creases appearing in her kimono as she did so. "I understand, I will take him up into my room and make preparations for the room, a few flights of stairs below me, to be his future residence." she put the boy back upon the canine and walked with it to a door to the left, she pushed upon the huge marble grey door and then walked up a winding, seemingly endless, flight of stairs up to the last room. She opened it and then grabbed the boy from the canine,

"Tundra, go inform the maids and get preparations made, I will clean him of the sand and let him rest on my bed." the canine nodded and left, closing the door with its huge cream white tail. The girl turned her chin down to look at the boy and smiled. She then took ten steps toward a shrouded corner of her room, revealing a canopy bed covered in layers of silk rich cloth. She set the body vertically, lightly laying the head on a decorated pillow. She went to a small tub next to her bed and grabbed a golden sponge, allowing water to be absorbed, and then turned to the boy and washed off sand. The sponge seemed to absorb every piece of dirt and dry blood as it cleaned his skin, not making a mess nor letting water escape anywhere. When she was done wiping him down and underneath parts of his clothing, avoiding spots due to her shyness; she went to a drawer, setting the sponge in the bowl, and grabbed strips of white linen cloth. She went back to the boy and then wrapped the cloth around small cuts that scoured the boy's arms and legs, easily gaining access to his calf due to a big tear in his white outfit. She finished with a smile of satisfaction, placing the linen back in the drawer; a boom of resonance came as the drawer was shut. She went to a large, soft, cotton-filled, oblong, sac like figure, and sank into it, curling up into a fetal position as she closed her eyes.

Not soon after she woke up, two nails separated the lid of her right eye; causing it to twist into focus and the other lid to open. Her body immediately sprang deeper into the giant pillow and the silver-white haired boy almost tumbled on her,

"Oh! You're awake?" she asked. The young boy gasped as he caught himself with his arms on either side of her, his eyes wide.

"Uhh," the boy stuttered at first. "Yeah. Who're you and where am I?" the boy inquired swiftly, backing up from the girl and off of the pillow. His eyes tracked the different patterns on the pillow, moving to the floor and trailing back up to the strips of color from the girl's kimono and then past her and beyond to the walls, chasing the floral patterns upward to the center of the ceiling. Once the girl cleared her throat, he averted his attention back to her.

"Oh, well, you are technically in my room. My name is Black Diamond, yours?" asked the girl, sitting up on her elbows, her ears pricked forward excitedly.

His eyebrow shifted unevenly, its white small fur arching as he listened to her enthusiastic question. "Er…Youko Kurama. Why am I in your room?" He questioned again.

"Oh, don't you know? You were unconscious upon my kingdom's shore, so was your friend, or I'm presuming you two must know one another, anyway, he was found by my sister earlier. In fact . . . I wonder what became of him . . . Nonetheless, you are in my room because I was assigned as the one to watch over you as you take residence here. Don't worry, you will have your own room."

His brow became even again but they diverged together as he heard the news of his friend. "You don't know what happened with Kuronue? Where is he?" The boy asked, quite concerned as he quickly whipped his head around the room for any sign of his friend.

She got up, trying to find a way to alleviate his excitement, obviously not used to situations like these. "Erm, no, sorry. But I am sure we will know his whereabouts by tomorrow. It's best if-" too late, he already winced as he attempted to move his arm up to scratch his head, "ehh . . . it's best if you stay and rest for a bit until father has everything arranged for you."

Her words didn't interest him now as he discovered the bandages that concealed his arms and legs. "How did these get here?" He asked himself as he continuously looked over the poorly constructed dull red bandages.

"I dressed your wounds, but don't look at me as to how they got there in the first place. I'd expect you to what went on before you were knocked unconscious. Can you really not remember how you got into the ocean and onto my shore?" she wondered, eyes wide with anticipation and wonder, "And what are you? I have never seen any boys like you around . . . I mean, I've seen similar but you are different from my specie."

"No, I don't know what happened … I was with Kuronue, then nothing…" he grimaced more at his recollection of memories; in fact, he couldn't remember anything at all except Kuronue. "And I'm a fox demon. What're you? You kind of look like me." he noted.

"A wolf. My whole kingdom has a population of about three thousand or so of us. My father is the alpha of our kingdom. I'm supposed to be next in line to inherit everything." she started, pride and smugness evident by the smile on her face. "So I guess you can just hang out with me and get used to your surroundings and who we are as your room is being prepared. I'm pretty sure you will end up with Acqua as an apprentice black smith to help make weapons in order to earn your keep. How old are you anyway? Because if you are near my age, then pretty soon we will be put into classes to help form our demonic energy into the different channels to find out what archetype fits us."

"I'm about…twelve and a half years." he thought back, trying to scratch his head, but the untangling bandages and cuts were making that difficult.

"Oh, I'm twelve, guess that makes you six months ahead of me…" she thought aloud, and then she went toward her bed and sat down, kicking her feet back and forth. It was a sign she was excited, that and her black tail was swishing back and forth. "I had found you while I was out scouting; it was sort of…punishment. I had gone past the village limits for demons my age. My sister was with me too, along with a few others. We were found without an above age guardian and so…we were given beach duty. Usually it is to make sure none of the neighboring kingdom is in our turf. Eep, I probably shouldn't have told you that…you could be a spy." she said, her sing song voice changed to a low, judging one near the end as she leaned forward, her hands almost coming off of the bed's edge as she stared at him. "Are you?" she asked, suspicious.

His first expression was a bit of shock, widened eyes included. "How can a twelve, and a half, year old be a spy?!" he exploded. Then his face relaxed into a frown. "Do I look like one at all? And would I really allow myself to wash up on your beach?" he questioned.

"Evidently you did anyhow, and now I am stuck babysitting you."

He gave a sigh that ended in a minor growl of annoyance. "It's not like I needed to be treated like some child." he grumbled.

"Well sorry, but in my kingdom's terms at the moment you need to be, and will continue to be treated as such until you come of age. . ."

He continued his grimace as he watched her, his arms crossed. He tried to ignore the throbbing in his arms to hold up his anger. "So you're technically a princess?" he wondered with an angry tone

"Ehrm, it has been what I have explained in some detail, yes." she responded, crossing her arms, the silk sliding against one another and causing her to have to stabilize herself before she could properly cross them. Her toes extended out of her kimono and embraced the marble floor as her anxiety rose a bit.

His face relaxed again and he decided to ask another question. "So where am I exactly? What land is this?"

"A continent off the shore of the one you probably came from. I mean, I don't know much because-" she caught herself, trying to keep the secrets of her people locked inside. "well I just don't know yet because I am not old enough to technically... know much."

His brow furrowed again. "So you can't know where you live 'cause you're not old enough? That's...stupid." he commented.

"No, I actually find it pretty necessary...I mean if you are a spy you would probably know well enough what I am talking about." she retaliated, biting her lip after she rebutted him. "It's just we have to be cautious with outsiders, so only when someone is old enough to hold their ground and not talk outwardly as children our age do...that is when we can know."

He continued to looked displeased. "I'm not a spy, though!" he persevered.

She noticed how his muscles twitched in agitation, and she stared at him from under the brim of her lids, her lashes extending from them in a fan of black. She finally came off from the security of the bed, realizing a maid was coming up, the footsteps broke through the awkward silence they had, and then the door opened.

Black cloth billowed out of the crack from the door like smoke as the figure came in, causing the silver-white boy to turn in defense toward him,

"Blackie, we have the arrangements for the new boy prepared, I will show him to his room, for now your father needs you and your sister down in the hall." said a male voice that came from soft androgynous lips, almost sounding as dignified as the unfurling of a scroll.

The girl nodded, causing her hair to fall down from her shoulder, cascading down around her neck as she walked forward past the boy and down the steps. Her hand stroked the wall as she held it up to keep her balance, always finding it more annoying to go down the steps than to go up them. She found herself going through a door and into the main hall, taking her place across from her sister and sitting on her designated pallet.

Her father waited until she sat down and then commenced with the meeting, she knew it wasn't going to be too profound because it was suppressed due to her sister and her being around. She wished he would treat them more as adults, but she also understood his refrain for trust and his good judgment. She looked over at a well built male beside her father, the male looked at her and smiled, nodding his head. It was her brother, he was the oldest out of the three siblings. She was the next in line and then was her sister. Her father cleared his throat, commanding her attention.

"As we all know, two boys have washed ashore; they had followed a few corpses much older than they. Some crash happened or Ryushi got a hold of their ship; that is what Darsch has informed me of. From his observations they seem to be from the main continent of the Makai. And when I had touched them no sense of our neighbors were on them. They aren't spies and they are just boys. What do each of you want to input on this subject?" he solicited, looking to each of the members of his council. There were thirty or so. Fifteen on each side.

One of them, Blackie's least favorite due to his lack of personality outside calculation, spoke. "Clearly they are children. But what I am worried about is the bat demon we have found. The fox could easily adjust to our climate and formation due to his similar specie. But the bat will not be so easy to put into our society."

"We could just execute that one." put in the sadistic female, sitting diagonally across the way from Blackie. Blackie's eyes focused on her sister, as she saw a flash of fear go through her. She raised her eyebrow at her and immediately her sister cleared her expression and went back to being quiet.

Blackie cleared her throat and then put in her response, "I don't think we should go down to a level such as that, Sen. I think it would be better if we were to try to put him into our society in a way that can help him adjust. Per se, putting him around the fox might help him adjust easier. Or maybe assigning him to be watched by one of us." she offered, trying to alleviate the anxiety in her sister.

Her father smiled at her and then thought for a moment, "Well, why don't we do that, I think it actually might be best to put them under Acqua's watch. I think the bat demon would work well as a black smith as a permanent outlet in our society. As for the fox, the rest of us can deduce his place as his progress goes on, because he can take the classes with the rest of the young ones. And when the others are training with their demonic energy, Acqua can train the bat child how to do weapon combat. Crystal, I want you to maintain the two boys, Blackie you have more important training to do than watch over them, since you are becoming of age."

Blackie looked down, in disdain at the ground, she had hoped she would be able to make a new friend, but as usual, she had "important things to do".

Her and her sister departed as they continued the conference with the older ones. Blackie sighed, looking to her sister,

"Crystal, I wish I didn't have to do all this work, I can't do anything I want to anymore, I cannot stand it!" she exclaimed, balling her fists, "if I am going to have responsibility I want REAL responsibility. Not all this book work and studying things I already know. I just want to be able to do more than sit like a pretty intelligent doll on the sill." she whispered, seething with anger, their feet turning cold from the marble floor as they walked together into the city.

Crystal was a year younger than her sister, something that dealt considerable amounts of ignorance to the things Blackie was talking about, "Yeah, but atleast one day you will be strong and intelligent! I know you do a lot of work, but maybe you should make time for yourself....Well, here is my stop, or so the memo card Sen wrote tells me; she took notes of what father was saying and gave me directions and orders. I do need to go but I love you. If you need anything, just buzz me." her sister said in her young soft voice, pointing to her head when she said 'buzz'. Blackie knew what she meant and waved her off with a kiss on the cheek.

"Go teach em'." Blackie smirked, trying formal comedy to lighten her grey mood.

She turned on her feet and started through the sea of citizens around her, heading toward the main library and not realizing just how far into the city her and her sister walked. _Looks like this year is going to be boring anyhow. . .Until I get to go to school. . ._She thought, and then, she disappeared like an ethereal being, the colors of all the unique people meshing together in a calico blend.


End file.
